About 20 percent of Alamance County adults do not have a high school diploma.

Anyone ready to get their General Educational Development test, GED, to get the equivalent of a high-school diploma should act now.

Time is running out to take the paper test for $35.

“At this point all our GED classes are fast track,” said Claire Dixon, director of literacy programs at Alamance Community College.

After December it will be a whole new test, a test taken on a computer, a test with a lot more Algebra and computer skills, a test costing $120 for those who pass the first time.

There will be a $30 retest fee for those who do not.

“So that is a little bit more of a concern,” Dixon said.

The GED changes every 10 or 12 years, Dixon said. The current version has been around since 2002.

The new version comes from Pearson, the giant education company that sold North Carolina schools its PowerSchool computer system.

Those who get into the GED class at ACC by the end of September or October could have a fighting chance of getting a diploma with the old test by the end of the year.

Those who go in later will probably have to start getting ready for the new version or another option called adult high school.

Those who have taken part of the current version, but have not passed all five sections, will have to start all over if they do not finish by the end of the year, Dixon said.

The current, 2002, version of the GED has sections. Most of it is multiple choice and there is a short essay section, Dixon said.

“You could pass with little Algebra,” Dixon said.

The new version will have four sections, mostly multiple choice. But there will be some interactive test questions where test takers will have to “drag and drop” items using the computer mouse.

The idea, Dixon said, is that high-school graduates pick up basic computer skills at school. And many jobs, and almost every job application, require basic computer skills, Dixon said. So the test reflects that.

There will be some fill-in-the-blank questions, some short answer and some extended-response questions, 500 to 600 words, on the new test and two short essay questions.

The math section will be more than half Algebra questions.

The English section will be less about literature and poetry and more reading and comprehension of office letters.

Dixon said anyone wanting to get a diploma or the equivalent should contact ACC and get a skills assessment.

Bring high-school transcripts if possible. Those are available at the Alamance-Burlington School System’s central office for those who went to school locally.

Dixon said the college can help people figure out how much they will have to study to get ready for the GED, or even steer them to another option.

Adult high school is one option to get a diploma without dealing with the GED at all, Dixon said.

Credits from the schooling students have can transfer. There are no testing fees and now there is an on-line option.

There are also programs at ACC for students completing the GED or adult high school to get a certified nurse’s assistant credential in a semester for free for those who qualify, Dixon said.

“We’re really trying to encourage people not to stop after they get their (high school) credential,” Dixon said.